Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis

Comments

My daughter's 88 Thunderbird had the same water problem and she did the same thing -- drilled holes in the bottom of the lens housing. Worked like a charm. Now my 94 GM is doing the same thing, mostly condensation, though, not standing water. Guess it's time to break out the drill. On another topic, my daughter belongs to some car forums and has heard rumblings about the not-so-distant discontinuation of the Grand Marquis. Tell me it ain't so! Mine has 180,000 miles and is still cooking along great. Looks great, too. I want to get another one pretty soon, if they give some better color choices. The current blues and green are terrible, in my opinion. I almost bought a 98 medium blue GM on eBay yesterday, but I am squeamish about the sight-unseen thing. It was a knockout, though, with sunroof and all. That blue isn't offered now, and the price of a new GM blows me away. If they are going to do away with it though, I will rush to my nearest dealer and get one, since I will keep it a long time. Anybody got any scoop on this?

As previously posted, a buddy, now retired from Ford, tells me FoMoCo still makes money on these models, so they'll be around awhile. Increasing costs are held somewhat in check by making prior years' standard equipment optional, such as the dual sunvisors and locking gas door, or by eliminating something like the passenger's outside doorlock and keypad.

Ford has been trying to get rid of the keypad for years now, and they get hate mail galore each time they do it. It's a lovely feature that actually keeps customers loyal to the brand. It would be foolish to decontent those features, particularly in light of today's competition. Hope someone from Ford is reading.

My wife bought her old 94 Cougar out of her lease in 96, because she couldn't get the keypad on the 96 - it had been eliminated. A sale lost.

Has anyone added a pair to a GM or CV? Several retailers advertise them for ~$290. I've seen them on some General Motors models and like the extra degree of safety they provide. It's been a long time since I tore apart a door, so am not certain what I'd run into re: all the electronics on the driver's side (e.g., windows, locks, seat adjustments, trunk, etc.). What type connections are there? Thanks for any insights.

Please assist my 86K mile 98 Grand Marquis. As I was ready to leave work this afternoon, I turned the steering wheel and tried to back the car out of the parking lot. I heard a grinding noise coming from the front end and the car won't move forward nor backward. I found that only the right front wheel is turning right and left. The left front simply won't turn. The power steering seemed fine and was turning the right front wheel OK. I was lucky that it happened before I hit the road, but I need help to get the car repair soon. Can anyone help me point out what parts of my front end is broken? What is the average cost of repair for this? Or recommend a front-end shop near Chicago O'Hare airport? Your input is appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I'm aware that original equipment is the best way to go, but was wondering if anyone had installed the aftermarket kit. "Muth" makes a nice, complete one for late model GMs. Since I'm not planning to buy for many years (I drive my cars till they start nickel and diming me to death.), I'd add the signals to mine if the process was not terribly difficult. But it's been years since I got into a door, and the switches on the driver's door might be easy (plug-ins) or hard to deal with. But -- winters in Michigan DO provide ample time for me to work on the problem. If I get any info, I'll post it. Thanks again.

I found the problem this morning! It's the lower control arm that was seperated from the lower ball joint. The sealed type ball joint was so bone dry inside. No wonder it snapped. I did hear some noise from the same area before, but the music was so loud. Perhaps the other side is going soon. Anyway, thanks for those who tried.

ball joint problems are quite common w grand marquis and crown vics.ford even issued an "internal"tech bulletin on it.if these stupid auto engineers would incorporate a simple grease fitting there would be no problem.

Thanks for your response to my question re: ticking noise. It is intermittent and I only hear it inside the car--no chance to hear it outside the car. I hear it only when accelerating slightly with the hood down and it is not loud. If, as you say, ticking is not unusual, what might be the explanation?

I have a 2000 GM LS with handling package that has 63K on it. I bought the car new in Nov 99 and so far the only repair has been to the cruise control system. I would like to hear from high mileage owners as to what a realistic life expectancy for this vehicle might be. The body is in excellant condition, with no rust or dents. Average MPG is 17-18 city, and 22-23 highway. I would like to keep this car as long as it is financially practical.

I've only got 109k on my '98, so I don't have high mileage yet myself, but have seen NYC taxis on eBay w/250k+. And they were '99 and newer. Of course they could've had a new motor & tranny or two along the way...

I had a '90 Vic w/ ~163k that ran great and didn't burn any oil, but leaked it from every seal it could, so I sold it back in May.

I can't confirm this, but I think age gets these cars before the miles do.

I would concur with iusecad - mileage isn't much of an issue at all until you get over 150,000, then you may start to have a few issues. 10 years is easy to achieve also. Change the axle fluid in the rear end before 90,000 though, or you'll be sorry

Chris Wedge, of www.muthco.com, e-mailed a pdf file of detailed, illustrated installation directions and a list of shops that will install the "signal mirror kit" if my efforts fail. (Kit includes replacement mirrors, wiring and connectors to splice into turn signal wiring.) Directions suggest professional installation and say each side takes approximately an hour. I'm going to buy and try to install myself. I'll post my results.

Muth Co. retails a kit (includes everything necessary) for $219. Searching "Muth signal mirrors" turned up at least one site that will sell for 10% off that. The Muth site suggests one hour per door for installation, which may be accurate. A respondent to the "Aftermarket" site here said he'd installed them on a car with no power features in 30 minutes per door. My local shops are charging around $60 an hour labor, so if you must pay someone to install a pair, the total should run around $339.

I worked in body shops many years ago, but have not personally torn apart a door recently. The pdf directions didn't frighten me. But if I got into trouble, I'd pay for help and let someone install them.

I keep my cars around 10 - 11 years. $339 prorated over 10 years is peanuts, and I am impressed by the extra safety these mirrors add.

If you go to the Muth site and can't get the installation directions to function, ask for help and the company will respond quickly.

Incidentally, I don't know anyone who works there, don't own stock in the company, or anything else. I'm just impressed with the product and intend to install it on my car.

I have a 94 GM with over 180,000 miles on it. Runs and looks great. I started using Pennzoil high mileage oil in it about a year ago and find that it helps a lot with reducing the frequency of adding oil between changes. It doesn't do much for the blue smoke, though. But that is not too bad for that amount of miles. The car has a few creaks in the suspension, but nothing major. I hate to part with it because I won't get anything for it, and it's worth a lot more to me than to someone else. I keep up with maintenance and waxing, etc. and it has paid off. I'd like to keep it to 200k, if possible.

Soooo nice to hear another owner who looks at a car, primarily, as transportation. Heck, my '00 GM has occasional suspension creaks and groans, too. (Though the hood bumpers do the same when I neglect to WD-40 'em regularly.) The longer you drive it, the lower ownership costs average out.

My only caveat might be in looking at how depressed current prices are as compared with what they will be when the economy has perked up fully. Of course, if one chooses to buy a year or two old/used one, not a spankin' new one, waiting longer won't be as important in this respect.